


Curse

by PerriewinkleNerdie



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 19:27:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20606075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie
Summary: A curse that looms over her family came for her





	Curse

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello, hello!  
I stumbled upon a prompt and my head got off the rails a little... so, angst mode is on  
Enjoy! <3

There had been many theories about how she had been murdered.

Some thought she committed suicide, her mental health slowly becoming worse and worse with each day. Others said it was an accident, a casualty, the knife wasn’t meant for her, that she as caught in the crossfire, being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Ethan didn’t believe it. None of it made any sense to him. Why would someone want to hurt her? What did she ever do to deserve such a gruesome and horrible end?

He remembers the day like it was yesterday. Nothing was foreshadowing what was about to happen. It was just a normal day, nothing out of ordinary.

Claire talked to him then, discussing more treatment options for Naveen. Her voice was calm, she was completely collected.

She was wearing a white dress that day, he remembers thinking how beautiful she looked, his mind going to the future, how she would look in her wedding dress, him standing beside her…

Their shifts were about to begin, he moved towards the door, opening them for her. She was stalling, like she was trying to prolong their moment together, standing by his desk, her fingers fidgeting.

“You okay, Rookie?”

She nodded, not saying anything, before moving to stand next to him.

“Thank you, Ethan.” She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, like the wings of a butterfly, a soft whisper against his skin.

His eyes widened in shock, unable to move, but before he could react, she already moved away, a shy smile with the undertone of something else, like… regret.

His mind was racing, watching her walk away. Not knowing it would be the last time.

Just a few short hours later the police would be in the hospital, gathering him and Harper in her office to give them the news.

Clarissa Herondale was murdered.

They found her in the park, under a cherry tree, her throat slashed, a few stabbing wounds in her stomach. The killer wasn’t found, disappeared into thin air.

Ethan felt numb. He didn’t feel anything, like the words weren’t aimed at him, like they weren’t talking about one of his interns, a human he got to know on a personal level, becoming friends, maybe even more one day…

So here he was, sitting on his sofa in his apartment, empty spaces surrounding him, a resounding silence threatening to swallow him whole.

The last moments he saw her flashing through his mind, right in front of his closed eyelids, when he remembered one little detail.

He didn’t pay too much attention to it, not thinking it could be important, but now, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

In a matter of seconds, he was on his feet, grabbing his jacket and car keys, running out the door towards the hospital.

The halls were quiet, other doctors moving calmly from patient to patient, not paying any attention to the attending, running towards his office, his vision blurred.

He flicked the light on and threw himself in the direction of his desk, looking frantically for… he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. He wasn’t sure if there was anything to be found.

Minutes passed. Then hours. He felt hopeless, all his determination to find something slowly slipping from him. That’s when he saw it.

A small piece of paper, nestled between the bottom of his desk lamp and the surface of the table.

He picked it up, moving to his couch, sitting down and unraveling it slowly, the scent of her perfume reaching his senses.

Her handwriting was neat, a little curly and so like _her_.

‘_Ethan,_

_I am aware that this might just be the last thing you have of me. Believe me when I say, that if I could avoid it, I would never let this happen. But it’s not up to me. _

_The truth is, I know well that by the time you read this, I’ll be dead, laying somewhere with stabbing wounds in my stomach and my throat slit. _

_I tried to tell you, but I didn’t know how to say it, and you wouldn’t listen to me. I understand that, don’t beat yourself up over it too much._

_I was trying to warn you of what was to come, trying to prepare you for the future._

_There is this… curse, hanging over my family, for, now, three generations. Every time, when a firstborn is a girl, she would meet her demise on the day of the primal sin. Or, at least, that’s what they called it. _

_The thing is, my great grandfather… he made some poor decisions. Angered the wrong people. He thought he could free the town he lived in from the bad people, but he didn’t stop to think about the consequences. _

_He abducted one of their own, killing him, by accident, not seeing soon enough the bricks that fell from the ceiling. _

_They wanted revenge. So, they killed my great grandmother, slit her throat and stabbed her in the stomach. They promised, that for as long as the firstborn was a female, she would die, the same way she did, on the same day, when she is 28. The killer was never found. But it’s always the same person._

_I think by now you can see where this is going. _

_I’m a firstborn. I’m 28. And the day is coming. _

_I’m so sorry that we didn’t get more time together, I wish I didn’t have to say goodbye like this. _

_Don’t cry after me, I’m not worth it._

_And don’t regret not knowing earlier. There was nothing you could do to stop it. _

_I’ll always be there for you, Ethan._

_Love,_

_Claire.’_

Ethan didn’t know what to think of this. She knew. She knew what would happen.

She kissed his cheek and said goodbye, knowing she would be dead a few hours later.

And she didn’t say anything.

For the last few days his emotions were nonexistent. Now, it all fell down on him.

Tears were flowing, his shoulders were shaking. He laid down on the couch, his knees by his chest, hugging himself tightly, trying to cope with the reality.

In that moment he knew. There was no doubt about that in his mind.

She was murdered by his indifference.


End file.
